Always DV Propaganda
Two articles and an editorial in the Bay of Penty Times yesterday generally continued our media’s penchant for male-bashing. Only the front-page lead article was available on the web. To their credit, interviewees from Relationship Services avoided gender-specific formulations and referred to couples arguing and hitting each other, and the police interviewee said they were called out to a house where a couple “were fighting”. Sadly, at this stage such care to avoid appearing sexist seems mainly facade, frequent accounts from men suggesting both these organisations operate under male-blaming ideologies.
FYI, here is my letter to the editor:
“Research has clearly established that domestic violence is significantly perpetrated by both men and women against their partners. Why then did your articles and editorial on July 12 describe only claimed examples of men assaulting their partners, perpetrate the long-discredited myth that domestic violence increases when a nation’s rugby team loses, and claim contrary to scientific evidence that “the vast majority of domestic bullies are men”?
Your interviewee from Women’s Refuge maintained that organisation’s male-bashing propaganda by outrageous claims that “generally speaking men won’t go to the supermarket” but instead will beat up women when expenditure on groceries reduces their funds for drugs and alcohol.
Even worse, I phoned both of the “where to go” organisations listed by Carly Udy and found neither were safe for male victims. The DV Helpline organization is discriminatory against men, responsible for the “cake” advertisements showing only white males assaulting women and children. There are local organisations such as the Union of Fathers that can safely assist male victims of domestic violence and one wonders why they were not asked for comment or mentioned as a possible source of assistance.
Domestic violence will not be countered until it is honestly understood and portrayed.
Hans Laven
Deputy Leader and Tauranga Candidate
Republic of New Zealand Party ”
I listened to ZB talkback for a while on this affair – the lines were hot with impassioned callers, most spitting with anger and ready to pass absolute judgement on Tony Veitch before any could possibly have known in any detail what really happened.
I can’t pretend to know any more myself, but I can at least refrain from falling into the same carefully crafted script that has been piped into our consciousness through the media/political machine over the last 10 or more years.
One refrain that was repeated was ‘any man worth the name would never hit a women under any circumstances’.
How so?
Shouldn’t men also expect to be free from uninvited assault? Aren’t there aggressive, belligerent women who would readily use violence to get their way?
We should be very careful to not use this sneaky language that forbids men and implicitly excuses women, as it can only lead to one outcome: in any physical dispute, men will automatically be held accountable irrespective of their guilt or innocence, and women will be free to abuse, hector and bully men to do whatever they want, secure in the knowledge that they will be free from legal censure.
For their sakes as well as ours, we can’t let this corrupting of women continue. It’s time women’s role in domestic violence was honestly admitted to and freely discussed. It’s time women were held as equally accountable as men. In short, it’s time women took it like men and grew up, rather than forever talking about it.
Where are the Feminists on this point, and why do they so visibly shrink from this hurdle to women’s maturity?
Comment by Rob Case — Sun 13th July 2008 @ 2:33 pm
The truth is this one:
The arsenal of punishment in store for the ‘violence’ perpetrator can not be applied on a woman. Because if applied on a woman it is soon realised that the arsenal is heavy handed, authoritarian, one sided and wrong. It will be soon realised that the authorities response is in itself violence and abuse of cosmic proportions.
The law defines violence as mere perception by the other party (female). You do not actually need to commit a physical violence as in the case of Veitch.
The problem is in the law and the zeal law incorcement agencies show to apply it.
DVA creates violence.
People blame alcohol. Alcohol has always been available.
The horde of the new violent youth are a pure product of DVA
See: http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/1901015
Comment by tren — Mon 14th July 2008 @ 7:02 pm
It all starts here… and it’s not OK
Male Assaults Female
but doesn’t end here…
Female Assaults Male
Male Assaults Male & Female Assaults Female
(jOKe) t.v. advertisements
Comment by bull en a china shop — Mon 14th July 2008 @ 9:19 pm
Bull, there is no female assaults male charge in the Crimes
Act deary. Talk about gender bias Helen and Heather !!
Comment by dad4justice — Tue 15th July 2008 @ 9:31 pm
concealing a penis is a crime, thats why…
Comment by bull en a china shop — Wed 16th July 2008 @ 2:10 pm
My letter was published in the local paper. I have not however monitored the paper so I don’t know of any response.
Comment by Hans Laven — Sun 3rd August 2008 @ 12:42 pm